Sunday, November 8

Pax Saudiana: Bruce Riedel's primer on the men who run Al Saud

"MBN IS THE PUBLIC FACE OF REPRESSION IN THE KINGDOM. DISSIDENTS ACROSS THE GULF STATES ACCUSE HIM OF PROMOTING A “PAX SAUDIANA” AND TREATING ALL DISSENT IN THE KINGDOM AS TERRORISM."

Here is another bit of news from Bruce Riedel's primer, one that will strike terror in the hearts of all rational people everywhere: "Washington" loves Muhammad bin Nayef, a.k.a. MBN, the kingdom's new crown prince and heir. He's their very favorite Saudi prince. Why so? Because he's tough on terrorists.

This is the stuff of a Monty Python skit. The Saudis have invented a kind of perpetual motion machine: They blow USD billions to promote Wahhabism all over the world, then they blow USD billions to fight just the kind of terrorism that Wahhabism spawns all over the world. Then they get invited to parties in Washington for being a strong U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.

Banana, anyone? I'm telling you, we're headed back to the trees.Meanwhile The New York Times reported yesterday that as the U.S. prepares to intensify its air campaignagainst Islamic State its Arab allies have melted away:

"They’ve all been busy doing other things, Yemen being the primary draw,” Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who leads the air war from a $60 million command center at this sprawling base in Qatar, said of the Arab allies.

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